


Goodnight, Travel Well

by hemingwaysgirl



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Heavy Angst, Hopeful Ending, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Peter Parker Angst, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Some Humor, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Angst, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Nightmares, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 04:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16674517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hemingwaysgirl/pseuds/hemingwaysgirl
Summary: “Hey, kid,” Mr. Stark greeted – his normally confident tone wavering slightly. Peter turned to face him, sucking in a startled breath at how unkempt the engineer looked. His normally perfectly parted hair was uncombed and mussed and his tie hung loosely – undone and draped unevenly along the collar of his shirt. His left hand trembled violently against his leg – he curled his fingers into a fist, but the action did little to hide the tremors.“How long have you been awake?” Peter questioned softly. Studying the sunglasses adorning his mentor's face, he knew that dark circles were hiding behind the signature Stark accessory.“Too long, kid.  Too long.” Tony's shoulders drooped, and he sighed harshly, pressing a hand flat against his chest.





	Goodnight, Travel Well

The sleek black Audi stood out like a homing beacon among the minivans and Toyota corollas lined up to collect their children from Midtown High. Peter Parker drifted toward the familiar vehicle immediately while Flash and his goons stood frozen on the school steps, staring at him in disbelief. Hoping to give them a good show, the teen allowed Happy to usher him inside the backseat instead of protesting like he usually did. He waved at the bullies before the door closed, giggling as Flash automatically returned the gesture, seeming too surprised to remember that he hated Peter.

 

“Hey, kid,” Mr. Stark greeted – his normally confident tone wavering slightly. Peter turned to face him, sucking in a startled breath at how unkempt the engineer looked. His normally perfectly parted hair was uncombed and mussed and his tie hung loosely – undone and draped unevenly along the collar of his shirt. His left hand trembled violently against his leg – he curled his fingers into a fist, but the action did little to hide the tremors.

 

“How long have you been awake?” Peter questioned softly. Studying the sunglasses adorning his mentor's face, he knew that dark circles were hiding behind the signature Stark accessory.

 

“Too long, kid. Too long.” Tony's shoulders drooped, and he sighed harshly, pressing a hand flat against his chest. He massaged the tender flesh and laid his head back against the leather headrest, drifting off to sleep. Peter smiled in relief – hoping that he would finally get some rest, but a half-hour later the older man's panic-stricken eyes re-opened as his fingers brushed along the rough circular scar and he leaned forward, resting his head on his knees.

 

“Where is it? Oh God, where is it?” he mumbled. He turned his head to peer at Peter through glassy eyes as he gripped his chest in alarm.

 

“You don't have the arc reactor anymore, remember? You had the shrapnel removed years ago,” Peter reassured the distraught man softly.

 

“No, no, no. Steve – he took it. He crushed it and he tore it out – just like Obie.”

 

Peter stiffened painfully. “Mr. Stark, what-- the arc reactor works as your suit's power source now. If anything happened to it, it would just disable the armor – without damaging your heart.”

 

The familiar cadence of the teen's voice seemed to bring the older man completely back to the present. He slowly sat up and took several long and desperate breaths. He met the kid's eyes once he was relatively calm and smiled sadly. “Sorry, kid. Nightmare. You know how it is.”

 

Peter held his gaze, frowning dubiously. “Yeah, I do. Seemed a little too intense to be just a random nightmare, though.”

 

Tony broke eye contact, bringing a trembling fist to press against his fluttering chest. Peter automatically focused his hearing and counted the erratic beats pounding against his mentor's rib cage.

 

The teen covered the older man's hand with his own, gently pushing it aside, while using his free hand to unbutton the wrinkled dress shirt. He gasped at the stitched wound decorating the scarred flesh in a familiar curved pattern. The area was slightly inflamed and severely contused. In fact, his chest was covered in green and purple abrasions, making it one colorful bruise. Only one particular weapon was strong enough to bypass the normally impenetrable Iron Man armor and cause such damage.

 

“Seriously? Has Mr. Rogers lost his mind? He could've killed you!” Peter grit his teeth to keep from screaming in outrage.

 

“Pete, calm down. He used his shield to disable my suit.” At Pete's comical look of disbelief, Tony relented. “Okay, okay. He put a bit too much force behind his hit. Probably because he thought I was going to kill Barnes.”

 

The teen swallowed hard. “You would never. Why would you--”

 

“Barnes killed my parents-- well, actually, Hydra had his mind under their control, so technically he's also a victim here. I just couldn't see that-- at the time.”

 

Peter thought back to the time when he witnessed his uncle's shooting, and how his father figure had died before help had arrived. He remembered the devastation and grief that had caused his aunt to crumble into his arms, howling “why” in a heart-wrenching repetitive fashion.

 

He remembered tracking down the murderer with the determination of a madman, finding him in the process of robbing someone else, and squeezing the villain's throat in a death-like grip – unable to see past the red haze threatening to cloud his vision. He remembered how he had wanted to avenge his uncle's death, and he probably would have if he hadn't heard heard his uncle's last words reverberate in his head:

 

“With great power, comes great responsibility.”

 

Peter had loosened his grip immediately and sighed in relief as his ears had zeroed in on the unconscious man's steady heartbeat. He webbed him up – leaving him at the mercy of the local police.

 

Spider-Man had a responsibility to protect the innocent – and if he killed this criminal, he was abusing his powers, and he would invoke fear into the people who needed his protection. And more importantly, he would become a murderer himself – therefore, nothing would separate him from the bad guys, and he would dishonor his uncle's memory, while compromising his soul in the process.

 

The sound of his mentor urgently calling his name snapped him back to the present.

 

“Mr. Stark, believe me, I understand.” At the engineer's skeptical look, he continued, “I've been there.”

 

Tony's expression cleared a bit as he asked, “Your uncle?”

 

Peter nodded. “I almost strangled the man who shot him. I was blinded by rage, so I get it, Mr. Stark. It doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you human.”

 

Tony sighed heavily, leaning forward a bit and staring at his lap. “Steve knew, and he kept it from me – I had to find out from a third party and in the worst way.” The man shuddered. “I just-- if he hadn't stopped me, I may have--” Tony put a fist against his mouth, closing his eyes and swallowing heavily.

 

“I know, Mr. Stark. I know.” Peter placed a hand between his shoulder blades, rubbing gently.

 

Tony's lips quirked up into a hesitant smile. He scooted closer to the teen, wrapping a trembling arm around him. Peter laid his head on the older man's shoulder, and Tony's head immediately tilted to rest on top of the kid's. Peter spread a protective hand over the billionaire's chest. Tony relaxed completely, releasing a relieved breath. “Go to sleep, Mr. Stark,” Peter coaxed softly.

 

The older man huffed in amusement but immediately closed his eyes and surrendered to the pull of sleep. For the first time in years, he enjoyed a deep, nightmare-free slumber.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a kudos and/or a comment if you feel led to do so. Your support is deeply appreciated!


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